A-body torsion bar question

I was originally going to put a 340 in my Dart (original 225) and bought a pair of 892/893 small block torsion bars. I ended up changing my plans and am going with a 400 big block instead. In doing some research, I found that a stock 400 is about 95 lbs. heavier than a stock 340. However, my 400 will have aluminum heads. intake and water pump so it should be somewhat lighter. Do you think the 892/893 torsion bars will be O.K. or should I look for a pair of 894/895 383/440 bars?

Either way will be fine.

Kinda need to know your intended use.

For non drag use, ANYTHING under 1" dia is a waste of time and rather 70ish, IMO

Just hang around , there many others who originally saw the light on this topic.

Over a decade back, many here were concerned about the "harshness" of going to "HD V8" bars over stock, and that was soon found to be a zero concern.

The old Mopar speed books, for drag racing purposes, used to advise using smaller diameter torsion bars on the front end to assist in a faster lift of the front end. On a street driven ride, that probably isn't a good plan.
I would think the larger small block bars would support the extra 95 lbs of the big block pretty easily. If your adding anything aluminum, you are reducing the big block's weight to even closer to the SB weight. I don't see a problem either way.

I used a set of 340 bars in my BB Duster. They worked great on the street and the car launched hard.

When I slid a 360 in place of the 225 in my 72 Dart I just ran the /6 bars. Didn't seem to be an issue for a daily driver. But I did add a 1.125" front sway bar. I prefer the big sway bar, not so big T bar combo.

I'd start there and you can always upsize if you feel the need.

In 1967 when they put the first 383's in the A-Body's they used the 892-893 torsion bars and only upgraded them in 1968, so they must have worked OK, but wanted better cornering and went bigger. You will be fine with what you have...

I kept the six cylinder bars in my old pump gas Duster with a 400 stoker 517 C.I. motor, they work fine for me but I'm a old time drag racer that doesn't like getting beat at the track or the street.
It ran a best of 9.993 at 134.?? (CRS) MPH with the full 3.0 inch exhaust system on to the rear bumper with the air cleaner on weighing 3450 Lbs. with me in it on 10.x31x15 slicks on ten inch rims, it ran a bunch of 10.00 at 134.+ MPH on a set of M/T ET Street Radials on 12.0 inch rims also
I am not a roundy round racer and I don't try to go around every corner faster than the other guys do

I have PST 1.03" bars in my 451 (lowdeck) A-body. They feel great on the street, firm but not harsh. the 892/3 bars (0.89"?) were way too soft and the front end wallowed.

The stiffer bars probably hamper the launch a little despite the Caltracs, but I don't do WOT on public roads anyway.
If anyone is watching.

The small block bars are .87 the big block are .89 and are 894-895. You can't get the .89 anymore, so the 1.03 are the only ones I can find available and are great especially if you have a full iron 440...

Firm Feel has t-bars in a variety of sizes just in case someone is looking.

http://www.firmfeel.com/a_body_mopar_torsion_bars.html

You can run even the smallish bars on your car. No worries. My old Dart had the 6cyl bars when I put in a 360/380 crate motor. Just cranked up the screws. Then when I sold the 6 cyl bars, and they sold within 5 minutes at a swap, I put in 340 bars I got new at the time from Chrysler. My bigger concern was the cradle. The thing was cracked around the lower bolting holes. The car would slide off an on ramp as the wheels changed degrees.
p.s I had no front sway bar on my old Dart. It lifted the front tires marginally when leaving from a stoplight. That is after hitting the line loc to annialate the rear tires to get grip. Before taking off. 4 Speed.

Besides the 340 bars, my BB Duster had a big anti-sway bar, big brakes and Koni shocks. That combination worked really well. The ride was firm but smooth and it went around corners really well.

My old '67 fastback had complete small block handling package stuff (340 torsion bars/sway bar). It also had power steering and AC along with an all iron 383 backed by a 727. While the handling was not superb, it was plenty good enough for a street cruiser. Shocks were standard issue Monroe gas units.

That would work if they were IN STOCK! A buddy got a hole of me for some big block bars, and I told him to go to Firm Feel. They said no problem in 6-8 weeks, and that was last year, he is still waiting...

For what it's worth and for what you're paying for , I swapped a bone stock 273/904 2 bbl iron manifolds a/c p/s etc. I installed a 440/727 with aluminum water pump housing, water pump, intake manifold, cylinder heads removed the a/c system up to the firewall and im running headers of course. I did not touch the torsion bar settings and the front end of my '67 Satellite was noticeably higher than before the swap. I dont know the difference in weight but i can imagine it must be substantial to be a visible difference, kinda like when my overweight date gets out and my tires dont rub anymore noticeable lol.
Copper